Penguins A to Z: Cody Ceci gets a second chance, again

While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 48 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Cody Ceci

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Right

Age: 26

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 210 pounds

2019-20 NHL statistics: 56 games, eight points (one goal, seven assists)

Contract: One-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.25 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2021

Acquired: Unrestricted free agent signing, Oct. 17, 2020

Last season: The Toronto Maple Leafs wanted to give Ceci a second chance when they acquired his signing rights as a restricted free agent from the Ottawa Senators in July of 2019 then signed him to a one-year contract worth an ample $4.5 million.

The reasoning was sound. Ceci was a first-round draft pick in 2012 (No. 15 overall) by the Senators but had struggled in 2018-19 with a wretched Senators squad that had the NHL’s worst record that season. Acquiring him would ideally provide Ceci with a proverbial fresh start with a superior team and better deployment.

Ultimately, those hopes went unfulfilled on several fronts.

Overall, the Maple Leafs struggled throughout the 2019-20 season. Things got so bad, high-profile coach Mike Babcock was fired Nov. 20. The Maple Leafs initially responded well under new coach Sheldon Keefe but by any measure were underachieving by the time the NHL halted play in mid-March because of the pandemic.

While it would be a stretch to cite Ceci as a primary reason for those shortcomings, he failed to live up to even the most modest of aspirations throughout the season while largely being used too much on the top defensive pairing along with the talented Morgan Reilly. Additionally, an ankle injury that cost him 14 games throughout February and March didn’t help matters.

Considering Ceci collected a mere nine points despite a steady 20 minutes, 32 seconds of average ice time last season, it’s fair to conclude offense isn’t what he’s renowned for.

On the flip side of that, he led the Maple Leafs with 2:50 of short-handed ice time as he was routinely one of the first players over the boards for Toronto’s penalty kill.

In late September, Maple Leafs opted to allow Ceci to depart as an unrestricted free agent.

The future: It’s safe to say the Penguins don’t plan to use Ceci as vigorously as the Maple Leafs did last season. Ceci was signed with the hopes of filling out the team’s bottom defensive pairing and likely will open the season working with Mike Matheson while ideally playing close to 18 minutes a night (assuming he beats out fellow right-handed defenseman Chad Ruhwedel for a spot in the lineup).

If Ceci tops 20 minutes, that will likely be because of an injury or absence of one of the Penguins’ top four defensemen.

The fact that Ceci is a right-handed shot shouldn’t be overlooked. For whatever reason, starboarders on the blue line are only slightly less rare than albino unicorns born on Feb. 29. Having seen mixed results using the southpaws such as Jack Johnson or Jamie Oleksiak on the right side, the Penguins never want to be limited in the options at their disposal.

And while Johnson certainly had many shortcomings during his two-year tenure with the Penguins, he was one of their top penalty killers, at least based on the short-handed ice time (2:12) he commanded last season. Ceci will be a candidate to fill that void.

Additionally, Ceci will have the benefit of working under new assistant coach Todd Reirden, who has a strong track record of rebuilding the games of struggling defensemen.

The Penguins are no strangers to giving second chances to wayward souls, having had varying success and failure with the likes of Phil Kessel, Justin Schultz and others. Ceci will get a second (or third, more accurately) chance to live up to his potential with a lesser role.

Follow the Penguins all season long.